100 words to Impress an Examiner!

Here are 100 advanced English words which should you be able to use
them in a sentence will impress even educated native speakers!
Perfect if you want to impress the examiner in examinations like:
IELTS, TOEFL and Cambridge CAE and CPE. If you are really serious
about having an extensive and impressive vocabulary, try learning
these and then try these advanced vocabulary tests.

Part ONE / Part TWO

aberration

(n.) something that differs from the norm (In 1974, Poland won
the World Cup, but the success turned out to be an aberration,
and Poland have not won a World Cup since).

abhor

(v.) to hate, detest (Because he always wound up getting hit in

the head when he tried to play cricket, Marcin began to abhor
the sport).

acquiesce

(v.) to agree without protesting (Though Mr. Pospieszny wanted

to stay outside and work in his garage, when his wife told him
that he had better come in to dinner, he acquiesced to her
demands.)

alacrity

(n.) eagerness, speed (For some reason, Simon loved to help his
girlfriend whenever he could, so when his girlfriend asked him to
set the table he did so with alacrity.)

amiable

(adj.) friendly (An amiable fellow, Neil got along with just about
everyone.)

appease
 (v.) to calm, satisfy (When Jerry cries, his mother gives him
chocolate to appease him.)

arcane

(adj.) obscure, secret, known only by a few (The professor is an

expert in arcane Kashubian literature.)

avarice

(n.) excessive greed (The banker’s avarice led him to amass an

enormous personal fortune.)

brazen

(adj.) excessively bold, brash, clear and obvious (Critics

condemned the writer’s brazen attempt to plagiarise Frankow-
Czerwonko’s work.)

brusque

(adj.) short, abrupt, dismissive (Simon’s brusque manner

sometimes offends his colleagues.)

cajole

(v.) to urge, coax (Magda's friends cajoled her into drinking too
much.)

callous

(adj.) harsh, cold, unfeeling (The murderer’s callous lack of

remorse shocked the jury.)

candor

(n.) honesty, frankness (We were surprised by the candor of the

politician’s speech because she is usually rather evasive.)

chide

(v.) to voice disapproval (Hania chided Gregory for his vulgar

habits and sloppy appearance.)

circumspect
 (adj.) cautious (Though I promised Marta’s father I would bring
her home promptly by midnight, it would have been more
circumspect not to have specified a time.)

clandestine

(adj.) secret (Announcing to her boyfriend that she was going to

the library, Maria actually went to meet George for a clandestine
liaison.)

coerce

(v.) to make somebody do something by force or threat (The

court decided that David Beckham did not have to honor the
contract because he had been coerced into signing it.)

coherent

(adj.) logically consistent, intelligible (William could not figure

out what Harold had seen because he was too distraught to
deliver a coherent statement.)

complacency

(n.) self-satisfied ignorance of danger (Simon tried to shock his

friends out of their complacency by painting a frightening picture
of what might happen to them.)

confidant

(n.) a person entrusted with secrets (Shortly after we met, he

became my chief confidant.)

connive

(v.) to plot, scheme (She connived to get me to give up my

plans to start up a new business.)

cumulative

(adj.) increasing, building upon itself (The cumulative effect of

hours spent using the World English website was a vast
improvement in his vocabulary and general level of English.)

debase
 (v.) to lower the quality or esteem of something (The large raise
that he gave himself debased his motives for running the
charity.)

decry

(v.) to criticize openly (Andrzej Lepper, the leader of the Polish

Self Defence party decried the appaling state of Polish roads.)

deferential

(adj.) showing respect for another’s authority (Donata is always

excessively deferential to any kind of authority figure.)

demure

(adj.) quiet, modest, reserved (Though everyone else at the

party was dancing and going crazy, she remained demure.)

deride

(v.) to laugh at mockingly, scorn (The native speaker often

derided the other teacher’s accent.)

despot

(n.) one who has total power and rules brutally (The despot
issued a death sentence for anyone who disobeyed his laws.)

diligent

(adj.) showing care in doing one’s work (The diligent researcher

made sure to double check her measurements.)

elated

(adj.) overjoyed, thrilled (When he found out he had won the

lottery, the postman was elated.)

eloquent

(adj.) expressive, articulate, moving (The best man gave such

an eloquent speech that most guests were crying.)

embezzle
 (v.) to steal money by falsifying records (The accountant was
fired for embezzling €10,000 of the company’s funds.)

empathy

(n.) sensitivity to another’s feelings as if they were one’s own (I

feel such empathy for my dog when she’s upset so am I!)

enmity

(n.) ill will, hatred, hostility (John and Scott have clearly not
forgiven each other, because the enmity between them is
obvious to anyone in their presence.)

erudite

(adj.) learned (My English teacher is such an erudite scholar that

he has translated some of the most difficult and abstruse Old
English poetry.)

extol

(v.) to praise, revere (Kamila extolled the virtues of a vegetarian

diet to her meat-loving boyfriend.)

fabricate

(v.) to make up, invent (When I arrived an hour late to class, I

fabricated some excuse about my car breaking down on the way
to work.)

feral

(adj.) wild, savage (That beast looks so feral that I would fear
being alone with it.)

flabbergasted

(adj.) astounded (Whenever I read an Agatha Christie mystery

novel, I am always flabbergasted when I learn the identity of the
murderer.)

forsake
 (v.) to give up, renounce (I won't forsake my conservative
principles.)

fractious

(adj.) troublesome or irritable (Although the child insisted he

wasn’t tired, his fractious behaviour - especially his decision to
crush his jam sandwiches all over the floor - convinced everyone
present that it was time to put him to bed.)

furtive

(adj.) secretive, sly (Claudia’s placement of her drugs in her

sock drawer was not as furtive as she thought, as the sock
drawer is the first place most parents look.)

gluttony

(n.) overindulgence in food or drink (Helen’s fried chicken tastes

so divine, I don’t know how anyone can call gluttony a sin.)

gratuitous

(adj.) uncalled for, unwarranted (Every evening the guy at the

fish and chip shop gives me a gratuitous helping of vinegar.)

haughty

(adj.) disdainfully proud (The superstar’s haughty dismissal of

her co-stars will backfire on her someday.)

hypocrisy

(n.) pretending to believe what one does not (Once the politician
began passing legislation that contradicted his campaign
promises, his hypocrisy became apparent.)

impeccable

(adj.) exemplary, flawless (If your grades were as impeccable as

your brother’s, then you too would receive a car for a graduation
present.)

impertinent
 (adj.) rude, insolent (Most of your comments are so impertinent
that I don’t wish to dignify them with an answer.)

implacable

(adj.) incapable of being appeased or mitigated (Watch out:

once you shun Grandmother’s cooking, she is totally implacable.)

impudent

(adj.) casually rude, insolent, impertinent (The impudent young

woman looked her teacher up and down and told him he was
hot.)

incisive

(adj.) clear, sharp, direct (The discussion wasn’t going anywhere

until her incisive comment allowed everyone to see what the
true issues were.)

indolent

(adj.) lazy (Why should my indolent children, who can’t even

pick themselves up off the sofa to pour their own juice, be
rewarded with a trip to Burger King?)

inept

(adj.) not suitable or capable, unqualified (She proved how inept

she was when she forgot two orders and spilled a pint of cider in
a customer’s lap.)

infamy

(n.) notoriety, extreme ill repute (The infamy of his crime will
not lessen as time passes.)

inhibit

(v.) to prevent, restrain, stop (When I told you I needed the car
last night, I certainly never meant to inhibit you from going out.)

innate
 (adj.) inborn, native, inherent (His incredible athletic talent is
innate, he never trains, lifts weights, or practices.)

insatiable

(adj.) incapable of being satisfied (My insatiable appetite for

blondes was a real problem on my recent holiday in Japan!)

insular

(adj.) separated and narrow-minded; tight-knit, closed off

(Because of the sensitive nature of their jobs, those who work
for MI5 must remain insular and generally only spend time with
each other.)

intrepid

(adj.) brave in the face of danger (After scaling a live volcano

prior to its eruption, the explorer was praised for his intrepid
attitude.)

inveterate

(adj.) stubbornly established by habit (I’m the first to admit that

I’m an inveterate cider drinker—I drink four pints a day.)

jubilant

(adj.) extremely joyful, happy (The crowd was jubilant when the
firefighter carried the woman from the flaming building.)

knell

(n.) the solemn sound of a bell, often indicating a death (Echoing

throughout our village, the funeral knell made the grey day even
more grim.)

lithe

(adj.) graceful, flexible, supple (Although the dancers were all

outstanding, Joanna’s control of her lithe body was particularly
impressive.)

lurid
 (adj.) ghastly, sensational (Barry’s story, in which he described a
character torturing his neighbour's tortoise, was judged too lurid
to be published on the English Library's website.)

maverick

(n.) an independent, nonconformist person (John is a real

maverick and always does things his own way.)

maxim

(n.) a common saying expressing a principle of conduct (Ms.

Stone’s etiquette maxims are both entertaining and
instructional.)

meticulous

(adj.) extremely careful with details (The ornate needlework in

the bride’s gown was a product of meticulous handiwork.)

modicum

(n.) a small amount of something (Refusing to display even a

modicum of sensitivity, Magda announced her boss’s affair to the
entire office.)

morose

(adj.) gloomy or sullen (David’s morose nature made him very

unpleasant to talk to.)

myriad

(adj.) consisting of a very great number (It was difficult to

decide what to do on Saturday night because the city presented
us with myriad possibilities for fun.)

nadir

(n.) the lowest point of something (My day was boring, but the
nadir came when my new car was stolen.)

nominal
 (adj.) trifling, insignificant (Because he was moving the following
week and needed to get rid of his furniture more than he needed
money, Kim sold everything for a nominal price.)

novice

(n.) a beginner, someone without training or experience

(Because we were all novices at archery, our instructor decided
to begin with the basics

nuance

(n.) a slight variation in meaning, tone, expression (The nuances

of the poem were not obvious to the casual reader, but the
teacher was able to point them out.)

oblivious

(adj.) lacking consciousness or awareness of something

(Oblivious to the burning smell emanating from the kitchen, my
father did not notice that the rolls in the oven were burned until
much too late.)

obsequious

(adj.) excessively compliant or submissive (Donald acted like

Susan’s servant, obeying her every request in an obsequious
manner.)

obtuse

(adj.) lacking quickness of sensibility or intellect (Political

opponents warned that the prime minister’s obtuse approach to
foreign policy would embroil the nation in mindless war.)

panacea

(n.) a remedy for all ills or difficulties (Doctors wish there was a
single panacea for every disease, but sadly there is not.)

parody
 (n.) a satirical imitation (A hush fell over the classroom when the
teacher returned to find Magdalena acting out a parody of his
teaching style.)

penchant

(n.) a tendency, partiality, preference (Fiona’s dinner parties

quickly became monotonous on account of her penchant for
Indian dishes.)

perusal

(n.) a careful examination, review (The actor agreed to accept

the role after a three-month perusal of the movie script.)

plethora

(n.) an abundance, excess (The wedding banquet included a

plethora of oysters piled almost three feet high.)

predilection

(n.) a preference or inclination for something (James has a

predilection for eating toad in the whole with tomato ketchup.)

quaint

(adj.) charmingly old-fashioned (Mary was delighted by the

quaint bonnets she saw in Romania.)

rash

(adj.) hasty, incautious (It’s best to think things over calmly and
thoroughly, rather than make rash decisions.)

refurbish

(v.) to restore, clean up (After being refurbished the old Triumph

motorcycle commanded the handsome price of $6000.)

repudiate

(v.) to reject, refuse to accept (Tom made a strong case for an

extension of his curfew, but his mother repudiated it with a few
biting words.)
rife

(adj.) abundant (Surprisingly, the teacher’s writing was rife with

spelling errors.)

salient

(adj.) significant, conspicuous (One of the salient differences

between Alison and Helen is that Alison is a couple of kilos
heavier.)

serendipity

(n.) luck, finding good things without looking for them (In an
amazing bit of serendipity, penniless Mark found a $50 bill on
the back seat of the bus.)

staid

(adj.) sedate, serious, self-restrained (The staid butler never

changed his expression no matter what happened.)

superfluous

(adj.) exceeding what is necessary (Samantha had already won

the campaign so her constant flattery of others was
superfluous.)

sycophant

(n.) one who flatters for self-gain (Some see the people in the
cabinet as the Prime Minister’s closest advisors, but others see
them as sycophants.)

taciturn

(adj.) not inclined to talk (Though Magda never seems to stop

talking, her brother is quite taciturn.)

truculent

(adj.) ready to fight, cruel (This club doesn’t really attract the
dangerous types, so why was that bouncer being so truculent?)

umbrage
 (n.) resentment, offence (He called me a lily-livered coward, and
I took umbrage at the insult.)

venerable

(adj.) deserving of respect because of age or achievement (The

venerable High Court judge had made several key rulings in
landmark cases throughout the years.)

vex

(v.) to confuse or annoy (My boyfriend vexes me by pinching my

bottom for hours on end.)

vociferous

(adj.) loud, boisterous (I’m tired of his vociferous whining so I’m

breaking up with him.)

wanton

(adj.) undisciplined, lewd, lustful (Joanna’s wanton demeanor

often made the frat guys next door very excited.)

zenith

(n.) the highest point, culminating point (I was too nice to tell
Emily that she had reached the absolute zenith of her career
with that one top 10 hit of hers.)